Ryan Hughes Top Glen Helen WORCS....

By Kit Palmer | 2/10/2003 12:00 AM

Training pays off - it gets you into shape and for Ryan Hughes it makes you $5000 richer. In preparation for the upcoming 125cc National MX Series, KTM Red Bull's Hughes participated in the second round of the World Off-Road Championship Series at Glen Helen Raceway, yesterday, and promptly rode off with the win and the $5000 first-place Pro purse.

The race featured a full-on motocross layout, which was right up Hughes' alley. "I thought this would be good for training," Hughes said. "It [the race] is more motocross [than off-road], it's at Glen Helen (at track Hughes knows well) and the $5000 - you can't beat that." And nobody could beat Hughes.

For the most part, Hughes led from start to finish and eventually crossed the finish line some 45 seconds ahead of Russell Pearson on the Yamaha YZ450F. Hughes rode a stock KTM 250 SX, complete with the stock motocross fuel tank and spin-off gas cap. While everyone else pitted once, Hughes pitted twice and still had lots of room to spare at the finish.

"It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed myself," Hughes said.

Pearson, as mentioned, finished second after taking the holeshot, while Ty Davis worked his way up from a bad start to finish third.

Fourth place went to Yamaha-mounted Lance Smail, while fellow Yamaha rider Nathan Woods rounded out the top five. Desert racers Johnny Campbell and Destry Abbott finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

Former factory Honda motocrosser Scott Sheak tried his luck at the money but crashed out late in the race while dicing with Davis. Sheak was taken to the hospital with, reportedly, a possible rib injury.

KTM's Shane Watts was going to compete, but the Australian crashed on Saturday and broke his leg. Watts broke the tibia and fibula in his leg and will, once again, be out of action for a few months.

Kit Palmer started his career at Cycle News in 1984 and he’s been testing dirt and streetbikes every since – plus covering any event that uses some form of a knobby tire. He’s also our resident motorcycle mileage man with a commute of 120 miles a day.